Sestak stumps in Upper Macungie

Toomey defends his record.

July 06, 2010|By Jenna Portnoy, Of The Morning Call

U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak touted his plan to grow small businesses Tuesday while touring a metal roof and wall manufacturer, but at least one of the company's owners remained unsure the Democrat has the best strategy.

"You generate the jobs," Sestak told employees of Atas International, Upper Macungie Township. "(Small business) is where the majority of people in my district — and across the state — work."

Congressman Sestak, who will face Republican Pat Toomey in November, wants at least 25 percent of $35 million in a federal venture market capital program to fund emerging technology industries like those developed at Atas International. Sestak would also give investors in startups and high-growth areas a 30 percent tax credit and he voted to eliminate capital gain taxes for others.

Sestak barely got past the lobby at the start of the tour when Toomey supporters walked in, holding signs that said, "Cap and Trade Kills Jobs" and "Say no to Bailout Joe." The first refers to a pollution control mechanism and the second emergency government spending to help the auto industry.

Bailout questions surfaced again at the end of the tour. As Sestak was whisked off to his next event, Jim Bus, Atas vice president and co-owner with his brother, company President Dick Bus, wondered aloud, "If he's not for big business, why did he bail out General Motors?"

After the event, Sestak's campaign defended a bailout of the car manufacturing giant, saying one in 10 jobs is linked to the auto industry, from auto parts manufacturers and dealers.

The Buses' father emigrated from Holland with $10 in his pocket and founded the family business in 1963 with 17 employees. Today the company employs 130 workers and makes renewable energy panels like the photovoltaics they made for a school administration building in Catasauqua.

"If I screw up here, I certainly don't expect the government to bail me out," said Jim Bus, who would be happy to give Toomey a similar chance to court Atas workers.

The company has not noticed a boost from the stimulus package, but a $1,500 tax credit on energy efficient products has helped keep revenue flat over the last two years, Jim Bus said.

Sestak, his collar unbuttoned and sleeves rolled up, walked under the broiling sun to the second of the company's three Upper Macungie buildings and took questions from employees gathered there.

In response Sestak said the new law would spread over a larger pool the risk groups of workers take on when their employer provides health coverage.

"Small businesses pay 18 percent more in premiums (than large corporations) because if one or two people here happen to have cancer … you're going to pay a bit more."

In statement's advancing the event, Sestak attacked what he called Toomey's record of support for big businesses while his opponent was in Congress from 1999 to 2005. Toomey supported tax cuts benefiting the wealthiest Americans, Sestak said, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which deregulated Wall Street.

"The point is that these votes are not extreme," said spokeswoman Nachama Soloveichik. "If anyone's extreme it's Joe Sestak."

Sestak's campaign attacked Toomey's credentials as a small businessman, saying his role was limited in three restaurants Toomey owned with his brothers before entering Congress. Toomey's camp responded with a detailed account of his involvement in Boca Joe's Beach Club and Rookie's in Allentown and a second Rookie's in Lancaster from late 1991 through 1998. Toomey hung decorations, interviewed hires and swept floors, his spokeswoman said.